If given the chance, here are three questions I would ask the presidential candidates.

1. Can you recount a moment with one or more of your children that changed your perspective on life?

Things change when you procreate. Parenthood sharpens your focus and gives you a sort of foresight that you didn’t know you had. It makes you prioritize and realize what’s important in life. Things that seemed like huge problems before having kids all of sudden don’t demand as much energy or attention as they once did.

When you raise children, you have to learn the delicate balance of helping them succeed versus trusting them to learn their own lessons. I want a president that knows the difference between helping those that really need it and creating a welfare lifestyle. People need help from time to time, but just like we don’t expect our children to be dependent upon us forever, neither should the government expect anyone to be indefinitely on the dole.

2. As a mom, I worry about my kids’ safety and the rising cost of gasoline. How important is energy independence for America in terms of national security, and what is your plan to get us there?

We import nearly 60 percent of the oil used here in America, and much of that comes from the Middle East, where tension runs high. Iran is constantly threatening to block the Strait of Hormuz, where 20 percent of the world’s traded oil passes.

Worldwide demand for oil is increasing, and renewable energy sources like solar panels or hydro-dams or wind farms seem like a pipedream. The United States has three times the amount of oil in Saudi Arabia in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. There’s more off the coasts and buried in the Alaskan tundra known as ANWR. Then there’s the crude oil that Canada wants to ship to Texas via the Keystone Pipeline to be refined.

We have the resources -- now we need leadership that won’t block us from getting to them.

3. Do you believe that rampant racism still exists in this country, and if so, could you give me a specific example?

Having been called a racist more times than I can count for disagreeing with a political ideology that is bankrupting my country, I’m tired of the term. Not only is it not true, but also it devalues the real struggle that many people once faced in the United States.

Of course there will always be nutters that hold a grudge against another person for their skin color, but racism in general ceases to exist as it did in the Jim Crow era. It’s now wielded as a tool for creating chaos and division, and used often as a power grab and excuse to manufacture change. It’s not fair to anyone to claim racism where it doesn’t exist.